Just My Luck
by wolfismyhero
Summary: Ariana and her brother Kael are trying to survive in the world of the undead. They know they don't belong, but they want to feel safe. They soon run into a group that takes them in. While Kael is doing his best to fit in, Ariana feels drawn to the one man who tries to distance himself from the others. Can love exist when there's no hope? Rated M for language and future content
1. Hello World

One day. That's all I want. One day to be a normal girl. I want to wake up, take a shower, spend hours on my appearance, go to work, have dinner with family, party with friends, and spend all night in the arms of a man who thinks I'm everything he ever needed. Is that too much to ask? I wanted the freedom of growing up and jumping from job to job. I needed it like crops need the rain. I was parched for just a drop of what the world used to be.

I guess I should be thankful though. I'm still alive. I'm breathing, with a heartbeat and thoughts and a conscience. I could be dead. Or undead.

The world is nothing like what it was. Cities have fallen, countries have been overrun, and most of the people in the world have been infected. While so many were killed, not everyone stayed that way. Some stood back up. They started walking again, searching for food, just after their heart stopped beating. It's not a miracle, nothing like that. These people aren't human anymore. They are shells of what they once were, monsters without any thoughts except for basic instincts. They feed. That's it. They don't sleep. They don't think. They simply search for food forever.

They're not easily deterred either. Since they have no feeling, injuries do not slow them down. You could chop off their legs and they'd still crawl after you. Hell, you could chop off their heads and they'd still be snapping away like some angry turtle. The only way to stop them is by destroying their brain. Bullets, axes, bats… anything that obliterates the control center shuts them down, forever.

The undead can pick up on a human's scent, which alerts them to dinnertime. They all converge on the one human, not thinking that they won't all get a bite. I've seen hordes surround houses, scratching and gnawing their way through the wood to get to the tasty morsels inside. Sounds pretty chilling, hm? Maybe that's why so many people opted out. There were countless numbers of suicides in the beginning. Some even took out their loved ones before turning the gun on themselves. It's better to die your own way than to be torn apart, I guess.

They have many names. Before the end of the world, they were simply called zombies. But things changed after people saw them in person. There're names like lame-brains, biters, rotters, roamers, lurkers, floaters, geeks, meat puppets, and walkers. There are other names, but the list would go on for days, and let's face it, no one has that kind of time or cares that much.

Surviving in this world is tricky business. In theory, being in a group is the safest option. However, several people have survived pretty well by themselves. Groups can lead to panic and in desperate situations, humans can turn on each other faster than a pack of wolves. I'm part of a group, but mostly that's for my brother's sake. I can't be awake all the time to watch him, and I can't take on more than one or two of the undead at a time. Being in a group ensures that he's safe, as long as I keep my eye on the others.

That's one thing I'm thankful for- having my brother. When the world went to shit, we stuck by each other. He's three years younger than me, so I feel responsible for him. However, he tends to take care of me a lot, treating me more like his little sister than his older one. Our parents are long gone, so we're alone. We know they are because we watched the zombies rip their way inside the house we grew up in. When the screams stopped, we decided to run.

Kael and I didn't get far. With the undead getting back up at every turn, we were easily outnumbered. It's a wonder neither of us were bitten with all of our close calls. If we hadn't found our group when we did, I'm sure we would be one of the walkers, shambling along until we found a human to rip into. Although I don't trust everyone in the group, I do know that they are just as terrified of zombies as we are. They provide at least menial protection. As long as I get a couple hours to sleep with someone watching my back, I can take care of Kael, no problem.

Oh shit, I forgot my manners. Although, who needs them in this world, right? I'm Ariana. I'm just a couple months from turning twenty-one. Instead of going out and partying like I planned, I'll probably be on watch for the undead, praying they don't attack my group. I'll be starving, which is standard for someone in our predicament. I have a seventeen year old brother, my parents are dead, my friends are most likely zombies, and legally, I can't even drink away my problems yet. Yeah. Life is funny, hm?


	2. Run to Town

"Ana. Ana!" Someone shook me as they shouted in my ear, trying to get me to wake up.

"What?" I groaned, rubbing the sleep from my eyes. Cracking them against the glare of the morning sun, I peered up at the person who rudely yanked me out of a pleasant dream. "Oh, Mike. It's you."

Mike Grayson, self-proclaimed zombie hunter extraordinaire. He towered over me, even as he crouched down to my level. "Yeah, it's me. Now get your skinny ass up. It's your shift." The burly red head ducked out of my tent, taking his shotgun with him.

I groaned even as I pulled myself into a sitting position. I could hear movement outside. Stumbling, I left my tent and embraced the cruel world beyond. The Georgian sun was unforgiving as it blinded me, making my eyes water. I rubbed my eyes again until they adjusted to the brightness.

My group was busy packing up camp and preparing breakfast. I climbed up on the van to take watch as the others scrambled below me. Mike had generously left the rifle for me, along with half a bottle of water. I had a short shift, since we'd be on our way soon.

As I was sipping on the warm water, someone approached the van. "Hey sis, you look like shit."

I rolled my eyes at Kael. "Watch your mouth," was my only response.

He grinned. "I brought you some squirrel. Eat up, it's the last we've got."

Like any true backwoods girl, I used to love squirrel. I'd go hunting with my dad and bring home a dozen or so. We'd gut 'em and roast 'em over a fire. It was one of my favorite memories. But ever since the damn apocalypse, it's all we've eaten, besides canned food and stale bread. It got old real quick.

Grimacing, I took the food and shoveled it down, taming the ferocious growling in my stomach. Kael watched my face as I ate, an amused smile gracing his lips. He and I looked related, but we had definite differences in our appearance.

While my hair was long, curly, and deep chocolate brown, Kael's was short, straight, and midnight black. His eyes were a warm brown with gold flecks throughout the irises and mine were green with shards of blue. I had a small, petite nose, but Kael's had been broken a couple years ago, making his look large and adding a dangerous edge to his look. However, we had an almost identical crooked smile and straight white teeth. I guess it's beneficial to have an orthodontist in the family while growing up.

I studied the world around me, taking in the barren landscape and abandoned cars. It was a bit depressing to see what the world looked like now compared to how it was before. I could still feel my brother's eyes on my face. Without looking at him, I said, "Don't you have a tent to disassemble?"

He chuckled. "Yeah, but that can wait. We still gotta couple hours, and you know I travel light." We both did. It was something our mother drilled into our heads when the world started falling apart. Travel light and travel silently. It kept us alive this long.

I sighed. I really missed our parents sometimes, and I hated knowing they suffered. I almost wish they would have made their deaths quick and easy. But then, our parents weren't the kind to take the easy road. They died fighting for their lives, and I was proud.

"You've got that look on your face again."

I still didn't meet his gaze, fearing what he could see hidden away in my eyes. He had a scary ability to read my thoughts as if they were in a flashing neon sign. "What look?"

"We couldn't have saved them." I sighed again, hoping he'd drop it. He didn't. "There were too many, and Mom and Dad made us leave. They gave us the opportunity to get away. They saved us."

I frowned. "I know. I just wish it could have been different." I glanced down at him, but he was looking off into the distance, deep in thought.

"Me too," he whispered.

We were quiet for several minutes, scanning the world around us as we simultaneously thought about that horrific day. I remember every detail with perfect clarity. Those who say time heals all wounds never tell you that the wounds still scar. I don't think I'll ever forget.

Eventually, Kael wandered off to our tents and took both of ours apart, storing them and all of our belongings in the truck. We usually rode with Mike, since he was the one person in our group who was most like us. While we grew up in Alabama, he was raised in Mississippi. He was Southern, and he knew how we worked. So the southerners banded together.

The next couple hours passed without anything noteworthy happening. We had broken down camp and some of us were eager to leave. The others had that queasy look on their faces, knowing what we were about to do. We had to make a run to the nearest town to gather supplies. Big towns and cities mean lots of people, which mean lots of biters. I wasn't all that enthusiastic about the upcoming trip, but I knew it needed to be done.

We had eighteen people in our group. Not wanting to risk too many, and also knowing that large groups were harder to get in and out quietly, we were only sending out three people. I'd drawn a short straw, as had a guy named Robert. The group knew by now that if Kael or I were going into a dangerous situation, the other would be sure to follow.

We each grabbed a loaded pistol- not that we'd really want to use it- and a couple of silent weapons. I had a large hunting knife strapped to my side, and I carried an axe. Kael had a machete and a screwdriver stuffed in his belt loop. Robert was equipped with a flimsy pocket knife and an aluminum bat. I tried to warn him that his weapons weren't durable enough, but he shrugged off my concerns with a sneer. Oh well, not my problem.

Our plan was to hit the closest gas station and pray that there were enough supplies in there. The rest of the group would hang a few miles back, prepared to floor it if the geeks stumbled their way closer. If that happened, the scouting party would be abandoned to the city. It wasn't a great plan, but I didn't argue.

We walked the whole way there. A vehicle would make too much noise, and the group couldn't risk losing one. Therefore, we stuck to the shadows and crept along.

Kael and I were used to making these runs. But Robert was fairly new to the group. We hadn't had too much interaction with him, and I wasn't sure if I wanted him watching mine or Kael's backs.

My red flags went up when we came across our first biter. It merely stumbled along aimlessly, no real goal in mind. Robert automatically reached for his pistol and I had to physically hold him back. Kael took care of it with his machete as I glared at the man whose face represented a weasel. He sneered condescendingly.

Kael wiped the blood off the weapon and frowned over at us, obviously seeing the look Robert had shot me. I gritted my teeth and kept walking.

We let Robert lead for a bit as Kael fell back to keep pace with me. "What the hell was that?" he muttered. I was right behind him, and even I could barely hear him. I doubted Robert could.

"I have no idea. But that asshole is gonna get us killed." We both frowned at each other, silently vowing to keep a wary eye on him.

We finally reached the gas station. I could hear a walker around the corner so I motioned for Kael and Robert to clear the inside. They both nodded and quietly crept forward. I hated sending Kael ahead to take care of the dangerous stuff, but I knew I could trust his abilities.

I rounded the corner, my axe raised in preparation. The zombie was hunched over something, and I could hear bones breaking and flesh tearing. Gritting my teeth, I swung hard, killing the undead monster with one hit. It hadn't even known I was there. I glanced over its shoulder and saw the remains of a rat. Poor bastard.

I was walking through the door when I heard Robert give a loud shout. Kael was wiping blood off of his machete again but we both froze for a moment and stared at the man in shock.

"Shut the hell up!" I hissed, stalking closer. "You want every geek in the damn town to hear you and come running?"

He rolled his eyes at me. "Oh get over it, bitch," he said loudly. "We hit the mother load!"

I resisted the urge to smack him across the face. "Shut up!" I whisper yelled. The key to our survival was staying quiet and undetected. It was like this guy had a death wish.

Kael hurried over. "Man, you gotta be quiet!" he whispered urgently. "We haven't even finished clearing the place out, there could be more."

Robert wasn't listening. He was too busy shoving candy bars and warm beer in his bag. "We need water first! And actual food!"

"Dude-" Kael reached out and grabbed his sleeve. It was like a switch was flipped. Robert shoved Kael back, knocking him to the floor and pulling out his gun. His face was pulled down into an angry snarl. For the first time since the disease wiped out the world, I was scared of the living.

"Don't you fucking touch me!" he screamed, a manic gleam appearing in his eyes. "Now everybody's gonna listen to ol' Rob now, you hear?"

I looked down at Kael, my heart freezing in place as he pulled his hand away from the back of his head, fresh blood coating his fingers. I gaped at him before I fell to my knees. "Kael, are you alright?"

He nodded fervently and I helped him stand. We needed to get out of there, now. Fresh blood could bring walkers from all over. Even if they hadn't heard or smelled you before, they would always be able to trace the smell of freshly spilled blood. Kael was like a walking dinner plate.

"We need to go," I hissed. Robert cackled, ignoring me. Kael and I started walking to the door, but what we saw made us freeze.

Four walkers had found us. They were eagerly sniffing the air and tilting their heads. I guess Robert's shouting had brought them closer, but Kael's blood made them zero in on our location. "Shit," Kael muttered.

I started glancing around as we backed up, praying we could find an escape route. Glancing quickly at Kael, I reached out. After running my fingers over his wound and coating them with blood, I started wiping the blood on the shelves around us.

Snarling, the zombies charged. Kael and I turned and sprinted towards Robert, urging him to hurry to the back door. I could hear the walkers moaning as they reached the shelves and started lapping up the blood, but it didn't distract them for long.

Robert shot at the zombies, but missed in his panic. Beyond pissed off, I pulled out my pistol and stopped, spinning around. Four quick shots later, I was behind Kael and Robert again. "Go!" I urged. "The back door should be through there."

The moans of more zombies came from behind us, signaling that they had quickly followed their comrades. We were almost to the door when a single biter popped up in front of us. He wore a uniform signaling that he had once worked here. I sighed and raised my gun. One more shot, and we would be outside.

Robert suddenly grabbed Kael and shoved him against the walker. It gripped his arms, pulling him closer even as he tried to push it away. But Kael hadn't been prepared and his arms weren't in the right position to keep the zombie back for long. My heart leapt into my throat as I hurried over.

I heard Robert cackling as he shoved the door open, jumping outside. In seconds, his gleeful laughter turned to screams. I guess walkers had been on the other side of that door after all.

I couldn't use my axe in the limited space and I didn't want to risk the knife so close to Kael, so I used my gun. I put my hand on its throat, trying to push it back far enough to be able to shoot it without hurting Kael. He closed his eyes to avoid getting the blood in them.

Seconds before I pulled the trigger, the zombie suddenly twisted its head. I watched in horror as its teeth sank into my arm. Before it could rip any flesh away, I shot it. Finally, Kael was free. With more zombies behind us, we turned to the door. We could hear them tearing into what was left of Robert.

"Go, they're distracted!" I yelled.

We leaped outside easily dodging the walkers feasting on Robert's body. More stumbled closer, but we were able to weave in and out of them pretty easily with our adrenaline pumping. Even as we escaped certain death, all I could think about was the bite on my arm. Kael hadn't seen it yet, because his eyes had been closed, but I knew what it meant. Either I would end up like those monsters, or I could put a bullet in my brain. Neither option sounded appealing.

We finally got out far enough away that we could stop for a breather. I bent over at the waist, hands on my knees as I panted. Kael was standing straight up, hands on his waist, catching his breath. He had been an athlete, things like running for several miles didn't faze him so much.

Suddenly I felt tension all around me. I knew Kael had stiffened up and I closed my eyes, knowing what that meant. "Ana," he muttered, his voice breaking. "What happened to your arm?"

I straightened and took a second to compose myself before turning to him. I let him look straight into my eyes, knowing that the answers he needed and feared were right there.

His face crumpled. "_No._"

I can't even begin to describe what I felt right then. Kael was my whole world and I loved him more than life itself. So I did the only thing I could do. As his legs gave out in despair, I caught him and held him close.

"It'll be okay little brother," I whispered hoarsely. "Everything will be okay."


End file.
